Apparatus for manufacturing glass articles.



No. 840,994. PATENTED JAN. 8, 1907;

' J. H. CROSKEY.

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING GLASS ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 31,1906

r 4 SHEETSSHEET 1. I\

k Wzfnessesf a N Irwerzlbzr C5. 6b. @vobob.

No. 840,994. PATENTED JAN. 8, 1907-.

J. H. OROSKEY. APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING GLASS ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED MAYSI. 1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2 w m K Q) S w 0 N mm; m v s 1Q 1% V1553) {Q m U a "I" i i 5 v N w N a (Q N N g mi Q S Q T] k 6 CL J S g m g k A U m N A *0 N Wifi'zaszs-es: N 0 S 45206212212.

No. 840,994. PATENTED JAN. 8, 1907. J. H OROSKEY.

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING GLASS ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 31. 1906.

4 SHEETS-,SHEET 3,

No. 840,994. PATENTED JAN. 8,- 1907..

J. H. OROSKEY. APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING GLASS ARTICLES.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 31. 1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

following is a specification, reference being of a plastic nature,,as glass, and the appara- Tim sTATns PATENT oTTion.

JOHN H. CROSKEY, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO DUQUESNE GLASS (10., OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, A COR- PORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING GLASS ARTICLES- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 8, 1907.

Application filed May 31,1906. Serial No. 319,493.

To a whom it, may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN H. CRosKEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Manufacturing Glass Articles, of which the had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention refers to improvements in apparatus for forming articles from material tus shown and hereinafter described is particularly designed for the manufacture of insulators for telegraph or other wires.

The invention is also applicable to the manufacture of any similar articles; and it has for its objects to simplify the operation, cheapen the output, and generally to improve mechanism of the same general character.

The subject of the present invention constitutes an improvement in that type of apparatus shown and described in my prior patent, No. 820,477, dated May 15, 1906, and comprises generally an intermittently-rotatable table carrying a concentric series of molds adapted to receive the glass and to cooperate with one or more reciprocating plungers operable within each mold succes sively, together with mechanism for opening and closing the molds, actuating the plunger or plungers, and for carrying out various necessary functions or movements of the machine, as 'shallbe more fully hereinafter described.

In the present apparatus I have provided means for charging the molds, which, however, pcr so is not necessarily included in the apparatus herein claimed, but constitutes the subject-matter of a companion a plication; also, means for moving the mo d successively into alinement with the plunger, means for locking the mold during the pressing operation, means for reversing the thread-forming plunger and for lowering it, means for opening the molds, &c.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein the invention is illustrated, Figure 1 is a plan view of the apparatus entire. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section on the line II II of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view through the cam-supporting and mold-lever mechanism indicated by the line III III of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a view in front elevation. F g. 5 is a detail vlew of a portion of the con-- struction at the left side of Fig. 4, showing the counterweighted plunger rotating and depressing mechanism. Fig. 6 is a sectional detail view indicated by the line VI V I. of Fig. 7 looking toward the left. Fig. 7 is a sectional plan view, upper portions of the structure having been broken away and the molds removed from the rotating table. Fig. 8 1s a detail view showing the means for holding the threaded socket-spindle stationary before engaging the rotating pins.

In the drawings, .2 represents any suitable base upon which the structure and operative elements comprising my invention are mounted, which base may be provided with supporting casters or wheels, as shown, or may be built upon any stationary supportingfoundation. 1

3 is a ball-race mounted upon the structural framework 4, provided with an annular groove adapted to support a series of bearing-balls, as shown, upon which balls or may be of any desired construction, according to the article to be formed, and the mold illustrated and designed is of well-known construction for the formation of insulators, comprising a base-mold 6, upon which are mounted the hinged sides of divided molds 7. These molds are arranged to be intermittently rotated around upon the carrier or table 5, so as to bring each mold beneath a pressingplunger 8 at the proper place and time. The table 5 is intermittently actuated by means of a spring-controlled pawl or latch 9, mounted in the outer end of the swinging arm 10, actuated by pitman 11 from crank-disk 12 on the upper end of shaft 13, driven by gearing 14 and 15 from main shaft 16.

The operation of this construction will be readily understood from Figs. 2 and 7, it being understood that the plunger is designed to be actuated during each period of rest occurring during back travel of pawl 9. The plunger 8 is also reciprocating and pressed downwardlyinto the mold 7 by means of the lever 17, connected with the stem 18 of plunger 8 by suitable links 19 and any convenient 20. Lever 17 is intervening cushioning device, as a spring ivoted at 21 in the upper frame 22, which ame also provides a bearing for the plunger-rod, the lever extendin backwardly and engagin roller with the groove 23 a cam 24, preferably made in two parts for convenience of manufacture, mounted on the upperend of the vertical shaft 25 and driven through gearing 26 from main shaft 16, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

For the pur ose of providing means for holding the si es of the mold 7 tightly to-. gether druing the .pressing operation the molds are provided with outwardly-extending lugs 27, tapered at their upper portion and adapted to be embracedby a fork de pending from the lower end of a rod 29, se-

cured at its upper portion to the reciprocating plunger-actuating mechanism, as shown.

in Figs. 2 and 4. The sides 28 of the fork are designed to have sufficient lateral movement to spring over the tapered upper portions of lugs 27, and for the purpose of exerting in- Ward spring-pressure I provide springs30,

' mounted on a rod 31 [which may be threaded at one or both ends, whereby the pressure of springs 30 and the resulting grip ing effect. of t e fork-arms may be accurate y regulated. The exterior portions of the insulator or other article are entirely formed by molds 6 and 7 and plunger 8, and where the article to be made is capable of being formed by a single plunger, as in case of deadeyes, cups, or

other similar articles, no other apparatuswill .be necessary. When designed for making insulators, however, I- provide means for forming an internally-threaded cavity, for which purpose I employ 'a vertically-reciprocating under plunger 32, having a threaded terminal 33. Eachof theseplungers. is

mounted by its lower stem in a supportingframe 35, depending downwardly below the turn-table 5, and is designed to be raised up wardly within the mold-cavity at the pressing position A simultaneously with the downward travel of plunger 8.

Each spindle 32 carrying the threaded plunger is r'aised, as stated, by means of a vertically-reciprocating independent spindle ,34, which in turn is raised by a wiping-cam lifting-stem 34, which abuts against the lower end of plunger-spindle 32, raising it to the desired height within the mold-cavity. The table then carries the mold and spindle around by a termina until its lower end rests upon the inclined slide or plate 44, and the wiper-cam 35 then reve se rotation of the threaded plunger no reverse rotation is imparted to it until the mold'has been carried around to an advanced position B. For thefpurpose of'holding the threaded plungers against rotation during the cooling period I provide a curved bearing-bar 44, Fig. 8, mounted in any suitable supports, a ainst which the teeth of starwheels '42'w1ll bear, the end of said ;bar terminating immediately in front of the pins 43. The threaded plunger is then slowl rotated to unscrew itfrom the article, for w 'ch pur pose each spindle 34 is provided with-a star or toothed wheel 42, which engages a series of stationary pins or rack-abutments 43 upon further rotation of the table, causing. the spindle to be rotated, and consequently to travel in a downward direction during such rotationxawa from engagement with the threaded'insu ator still in the mold. During 'suchintermittent travel of the molds the spindles 32v in their raised position are sup- 45 and so adjusted as to correspond with the desired lowering travel of the spindles as rotated. The slow rotation of the spindles continues until the molds arrive at the posi- IOC 'tion'C, at which point the threadedterminal of each spindle has become almost entirely .freed from engagement with the article, and

the spindle is then rapidly rotated, still in a reverse direction, by means of stationary spindle 46, having a toothed terminal 47 arranged to engage the corres ondingly-toothd terminal .48 of eachspind e 34, lowering it entirely from the mold;

Spindle 46 is rotated by means of earing 49 from counter-shaft 50, driven t rough bevelgearing 51 52 from counter-shaft 53, actuated through suitable gearing from the main shaft 16. To effect such quick loweringof the threaded spindle entirely away from its artia] engagement with the finished article, the spindle 46 during its rotation is lowered by means of a finger 54 engaging. flange 54, mounted on the upper end of stem 55 and actuated by lever 56,. adjustably mounted on shaft 57 by a key or set-screw lever '58 and spring-retracted. rod 59, conbackwardly at the proper time by means of cam 61, mounted on shaft 16. Spindle 46 is 'nected with arm 60, said arm being pressed Yided with a terminal nut 72.

side of each spindle 34 at position C. When it is desired to rotate the turn-table without using the lower threaded plungers 32, the inclined bearing-plate 44 may be lowered. entirely below the normal level of the bottoms of the spindles, as at the right of Fig. 4. The terminal of slide 44 projects over and also engages flange 54, thus lowering the unscre\\"ing-spindle 46 below the path of the plungers to provide clearance.

For the purpose of varying" the position C bevel-wheel 52 is in spline or set-screw engagement with shaft 53, and said shaft and also shaft 57 are of sullieient length to permit of sliding the bevel-gearing and its frame and also the lever 56 along said shafts to the next adjacent position or beyond, (indicated by the dotted lines(1 and 0,) as will be readily.under-.-

stood.

For the purpose of closing and. opening the molds at the proper time l employ cams 64 and 65, Figs. 1 and 3, of the same general construction and mode of operation as shown in my prior patent above referred to, and it is designed that each mold shall be opened immediately beyond the position (I, allowing of the removal of the finished article by hand or any suitable mechanism. The eambar 64 is carried upon the outer ends of studs (56, slidingly mounted in bearings 67 and normally pressed outwardly by springs 68. The pressure of the springs may be aeeurately regulated by the threaded bolt (SS) and lock-nut 70, while the outward normal limit of position of the cam-bar is controlled by stem 71, passing througltthe bolt (59 and pro- By this means the cam-bar is cushioned to provide su'llieient resiliency to prevent breakage should. anything occur to prevent closing of the molds. Likewise in order to cushion the mold-arms the cross-bar 7 3, connected with the molds by links 74 74, is cushioned against the cambearing stud 75 by means of an intervening spring 76, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

The entire apparatus is actuated from any suitable prime mover, which may be electric motor M, from which power is distributed through suitable gearing and shafting, as shown, and the speed of operation may be suitably regulated to conform to the work in view.

In the drawings l. have shown mcehanism for charging a measured quantity of glass into the molds by means of cups 77, mounted in an intermittently-rotating frame 78, arranged to cooperate with shear mechanism 79, adapted to admit the charge of the glass when open and to shear off the desired amount. The cups are adapted to receive an approximately exact amount of glass in an upright osition and to empty the glass into each mo (1 at the proper time and place by half-rotation of the mold. This construction, however, forms the subject-matter of the companion application filed herewith, audit will be understood that the molds maybe filled by any other suitable means.

The operation will be readily understood from the foregoing description. Each mold is intermittently brought around to the filling position X, then brought into register with the plunger mechanism, when the article is pressed into shape, the molds then traveling around until the screw-spindle of each is slowly unscrewed from the hardened ware, the threaded spindle then being entirely removed at the position C and the articles being removed immediately after from the opened molds. The operation is carried on continuously and automatically, resulting in great uniformity of product, simplicity of operation, and a high percentage of perfect goods.

It will be understood that the machine may be variously adapted for different shapes or may be greatly changed or varied in different details within the judgment of the skilled mechanic; but all such changes are to be considered as within the scope of the fol lowing claims.

What I. claim is 1 Apparatus for forming articles of glassware consisting of a rotatable mold-carrier provided with a circularly-arranged series of molds, a pressing-plunger arranged to coop erate with each of said molds successively, a series of oppositely-disposed threaded plungers mounted in the mold-carrier, independent )lunger-raising mechanism means for partialiy unscrewing the threaded plungcrsdun ing rotation of the mold-carrier, and means for entirely removing the threaded plungers while the mold-carrier is stationary, substantially as set forth.

2. Apparatus for forming articles of glassware consisting of a rotatable mold-carrier provided with a circularly-arranged series of divided molds having locking-lugs, apress ing-plunger arranged to cooperate with each of said molds successively, and means for simultaneously engaging the locking-lugs, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with a divided mold having locking-lugs; of plunger mechanism and means connected therewith f or simultaneously engaging the locking-lugs to hold the sides of the mold together during the pressing operation, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination with a glass-mold composed of pivotally-connected sides and having locking-lugs; of pressing mechanism, and a resilient fork connected therewith arranged to embrace the locking-lugs, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with a glass-mold composed of pivotally-oonnected sides and havmg locking-lugs; of ressing mechanism, a fork composed of reel ient embracing sides, and means for exerting inward pressure thereon, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination with a mold composed of pivoted sides and having locking-lugs; of

spindle, a shaft provided with a bevel-wheel engaging said'bevel, means for driving said shaft, a vertically-movable stem having a finger engaging the spindle, a pivoted lever engaging said vertically-movable spindle, a cam and 006 crating mechanism arranged to actuate said ever in one direction, a retract ing-spring arranged to actuate the lever in the opposite direction, and an inclined slidebar projecting over the top of the plungeractuatin spindle. and arranged to deliver the mol -spindles thereon, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination with a verticall i movable rotating plunger-actuating spind e,

of gearing arranged to rotate the spindle, lever mechanism arranged to lower the spindle, and supporting-shafts for portions of the gearing and lever mechanism arranged to receive and impart motion to said elements at varyin positions on the shafts, substantially as set orth.

9. The combination with a verticallymovable, rotating plunger-actuating stem, of a bevel-wheel engaging the spindle, a shaft provided with a bevel-wheel atone end engaging said bevel, laterally-adjustable means or driving said shaft, a vertically-movable stem having a finger engaging the firstnamed stem and provided with a collar, a laterally-adjustable bell-crank lever engaging said collar, cam mechanism arranged to actuate said lever, and a counterweighted lever arranged to raise the spindle, substantially as set forth.

10. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with a vertically-movable unscrewing-spindle having a flange and arranged to ma e lowerin 4 enga ement underneath each of a. series 0 annu arly-travelmg spindles projecting spindles,'.of an annularly-arranged s indlesupporting'slide providing a bearing or said over said flan e and making spindle.

11-. The combination withaplunger proan embracing engagement with said vided with an actuating star-wheel, of a slide arranged to provide a bearing for the teeth of said star-wheel to prevent rotation, substantially as set forth.

12. In apparatus for forming articles of ,wardly-extendingsupporting-arms, casings for said arms, and springs mounted in sald casings providing resilient backing arranged to oppose pressure against the o posite face of the cam, substantially as set orth.

14. In apparatus for forming articles of glassware having a circular table provided with a circularly-arranged series of molds, a

mold-closing. cam arranged concentric to the center of said table and provided with resiliently-mounted supporting devices ar,

ranged back of said cam on the same horiclosing mechanism, resiliently-mounted sup-' porting devices arranged'back of said cam on the same horizontal level therewith, and resilient cushioning devices incorporated in said mold-closing mechanism, substantially as set forth.

16. In a machine of the class described, l the combination with a vertically-movable rotatin plungeractuating spindle, of a lever-sha t anda power-shaft, lever mechanism arranged to lower the spindle slidingly mounted on' the lever-shaft, gearing and framing therefor slidingly mountedon the power-shaft and in driving engagement with the spindle, and cam-actuated mechanism arranged to tilt the lever-shaft, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN H. CROSKEY.

Witnesses:

CnAs. S. LEPLEY, C. M'. C ARKE. 

